Avanza Fonder AB Reduces Stock Position in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Avanza Fonder AB cut its position in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 419,590 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 8,484 shares during the period. Walmart makes up approximately 1.2% of Avanza Fonder AB’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Avanza Fonder AB’s holdings in Walmart were worth $46,747,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Walmart by 0.9% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 435,652,710 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $44,898,368,000 after buying an additional 3,835,200 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in Walmart by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 184,805,978 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $19,046,104,000 after buying an additional 2,242,364 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Walmart during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $5,367,770,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Walmart by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 40,298,623 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,153,176,000 after acquiring an additional 634,211 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Walmart by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 31,973,329 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,126,775,000 after acquiring an additional 1,098,342 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WMT. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $147.00 price objective (up from $135.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Wall Street Zen downgraded Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, January 18th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $145.00 price objective on Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $135.76.

Insider Activity

In other Walmart news, EVP Donna Morris sold 76,181 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.79, for a total transaction of $9,430,445.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 402,072 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,772,492.88. This represents a 15.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.99, for a total transaction of $1,574,868.75. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 727,155 shares in the company, valued at approximately $87,251,328.45. This trade represents a 1.77% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 274,278 shares of company stock worth $33,605,809. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

More Walmart News

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart’s ad business surged ~37% in Q4, which boosts higher-margin revenue and could improve overall profitability going forward. Walmart’s Ad Business Jumps 37%: Margin Upside Ahead?
• Positive Sentiment: Recent quarterly results beat consensus (EPS and revenue) and management set FY2027 EPS guidance (2.75–2.85), supporting the view that Walmart’s core retail performance and membership/ads mix are improving.
• Positive Sentiment: New national product distribution deals (example: Zep cleaning products now carried nationwide at Walmart) show ongoing assortment and supplier momentum that can drive traffic and category share. Zep Expands Home Pro Distribution at Walmart
• Neutral Sentiment: Technical/market commentary is highlighting Walmart as a buy point amid broader market weakness — useful for momentum traders but less material to fundamentals. Dow Jones discount retailer Walmart offers latest buy point amid market weakness
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry logistics moves — FedEx launching same‑day options as retailers (including Walmart) race to speed up delivery — are an operational/competitive factor to watch but not an immediate earnings shock. FedEx launches same-day delivery with OneRail
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest reports in the feed show zero or data anomalies (0 shares / NaN increases) and a days-to-cover of 0.0 — not currently informative for sentiment.
• Negative Sentiment: A plaintiffs’ law firm is investigating Walmart’s board for possible breach of fiduciary duty related to alleged deceptive pay practices for Spark drivers — a governance/legal risk that could lead to litigation or reputational costs. Berger Montague PC Investigates Walmart Board for Breach of Fiduciary Duty
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: the CEO reported selling roughly $1.6M of WMT stock — a signal some investors watch closely even though sales can be routine. Walmart CEO Sells $1,600,725.00 in Stock
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst commentary questioning Walmart’s “all-weather” defensive status suggests valuation and crowding risks for investors who expect steady downside protection; this is a cautionary view on medium-term upside. Walmart: All-Weather Status Ironically Creates Risk For Investors

Walmart Stock Up 1.1%

WMT opened at $122.05 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $124.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $113.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $973.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.54, a PEG ratio of 4.50 and a beta of 0.66. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $79.81 and a fifty-two week high of $134.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.79.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The retailer reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $190.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $188.37 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.44% and a net margin of 3.07%.Walmart’s quarterly revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.66 EPS. Walmart has set its FY 2027 guidance at 2.750-2.850 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 0.610-0.610 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 11th will be given a dividend of $0.2475 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 11th. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.13%.

About Walmart

Walmart is a multinational retail corporation that operates a broad portfolio of store formats and digital services. Its core business includes large-format supercenters, discount department stores, neighborhood grocery stores and a membership warehouse chain, Sam’s Club. The company’s merchandising mix covers groceries, household goods, apparel, electronics and pharmacy services, supplemented by private-label products and category-specific offerings. Walmart pairs its physical store network with online platforms and mobile applications to provide omnichannel shopping, fulfillment and delivery options for consumers and businesses.

The company was founded by Sam Walton, who opened the first store in Rogers, Arkansas in 1962; it is headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas.